George Guido: Pair of worthy Alle-Kiski Valley men bound for Hall

By: George Guido
Saturday, October 23, 2021 | 5:14 PM

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Two well-known area sports figures are headed for induction into the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Long-time Kiski Area and Burrell wrestling coach Chuck Tursky and Scott McKillop, football and wrestler from Kiski Area who played collegiately at Pitt and for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, will be inducted Saturday, Oct. 30, at a noon luncheon at the Sheraton ballroom, part of Pittsburgh’s Station Square.

It’ll be a busy day for hall of fame committee members. The state induction banquet will be held at the same place at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s definitely an honor. It’s something I share with my teammates in all the sports I played,” McKillop said from his home in Hurricane, West Va. “The induction is nothing I set out to get, but it’s the result of hard work and dedication.”

If there’s one regret, it would be the absence of his late mother, Monika, a strength and guiding force of the family, who died in 2018.

McKillop, inducted into the initial Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame class, helped lead the Cavaliers to WPIAL playoff berths from 2001-03 and was a two-time WPIAL wrestling champion under Tursky.

After graduating in 2004, he had a stellar career at Pitt, leading the Panthers in tackles as a linebacker with 132 in 2007, tops in NCAA Division I. McKillop was a first team All-American in 2008 and was Big East Defensive Player of the Year that same season.

Drafted in the fifth round by the 49ers in 2009, he played there for three seasons and for Buffalo in 2012 before suffering a career-ending knee injury.

Tursky is a Riverview and Slippery Rock University graduate.

In 36 years of coaching wrestling at Kiski Area and Burrell, he compiled a record of 505-143. In his 29 seasons at Kiski, he had a 459-143 mark. Tursky’s teams won 16 section titles between 1991 and 2015. In dual meets, his teams amassed a 214-25-1 record.

McKillop was one of the wrestlers Tursky coached.

“This is a real honor,” Tursky said. “I’ve been blessed to be around so many great people. I couldn’t be happier going in with Scottie. He was a great kid to coach.”

Tursky was section coach of the year 16 times, 13 of those consecutively. He was also WPIAL coach of the year four times: in 1996 and ’97 and again in 2002 and ’03.

But, perhaps, the statistic Tursky is most proud of is that about 90 of his former wrestlers are in the coaching ranks.

Said Tursky: “I’m very proud of that and proud of the influence I’ve had over younger guys in the sport.”

Among the other inductees are for Penguins general manager Craig Patrick and Shaler’s Art Howe, who played for the Pirates and managed the Astros, Athletics and Mets.

Braylan’s night

Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace had quite a night Friday, scoring seven touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ 66-6 victory over Imani Christian that wrapped up the school’s first WPIAL playoff berth in 33 seasons.

At most schools, 42 points are a school record for one game. But not quite at Leechburg.

The Leechburg football record for points in a single game is 46 set by Dick Hunter on Oct. 16, 1953, when the Blue Devils pounded Tarentum, 52-28, en route to the WPIAL title.

Hunter later played for North Carolina State and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Lovelace spent the weekend visiting the University of Toledo.

Punters need not apply

Perhaps the most amazing factoid this season is from Farrell.

The Steelers, 6-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state, haven’t punted yet while outscoring the opposition 354-14.

For the record, Lamont Samuels is the Farrell punter. Is he a good punter? We don’t know because we haven’t seen him punt yet.

Another amazing fact is that Farrell has only 75 boys in the top three grades but plays in Class 2A. The PIAA advanced Farrell because of its success-points formula.

Tags: Kiski Area, Leechburg